Tickford rear skirt

irdonn · 05-06-2010, 08:34 PM

I've got an XR8 optioned with the Tickford Body Kit. I've just taken the rear skirt off to try and fit it properly into the wheel arches. When I got the car one side was screwed into the wheel arch and the other wasn't sitting flush and looked as though it had never been screwed in.

I thought it may have been bumped and replaced by an aftermarket skirt but it's definitely an original part number on it. The rear bar itself sits flush and doesn't move but there is no way I can get the skirt tucked into both rear wheel arches and wrapped around the bar at the same time.

The paint on the top of the skirt has bubbled. Could it have been bumped, reshaped badly with heat and then resprayed badly?

Cheers,

Ian

galaxy xr8 · 05-06-2010, 08:44 PM

Do you have any pic's to see what you mean ??.

HLC · 05-06-2010, 09:01 PM

I have a genuine rear skirt on my car, never taken off the original bumper that it was fitted to from factory either, and it is a bodgy fit as well! I'm just gonna bang a few self tAppers in te wheel arch to get it sitting straight and spray it black and be done with it!

irdonn · 05-06-2010, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

Do you have any pic's to see what you mean ??.

Yeah I was rereading my post thinking photos may have helped! The skirt is meant to wrap around the rear bar and into the rear wheels arches... this one will fit in one wheel arch but it is impossible to put in the other. I'll get some photos sorted if it still doesn't make sense.

Cheers

irdonn · 05-06-2010, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HLC

I have a genuine rear skirt on my car, never taken off the original bumper that it was fitted to from factory either, and it is a bodgy fit as well! I'm just gonna bang a few self tAppers in te wheel arch to get it sitting straight and spray it black and be done with it!

Wasn't there any quality control from factory? I wonder if one from Fibre Sports would fit better? Maybe a bit of a gamble...

T3man · 05-06-2010, 09:29 PM

The skirts were made to suit Fairmont rear bars - they are a different shape and length to the Falcons. They can be made to fit but it takes some mucking about and they never look perfect.

**Whoosha** · 05-06-2010, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PANUP

Wasn't there any quality control from factory? ..

Skirts were not fitted at the factory as such , They were fitted at Tickford Across the road a bit , most fitted reasonably well from there,A few not so good, Paint matching on the metallics was a bigger problem ,quite a few were fitted at dealer ships along the way, have seen a few bodge jobs from some of them (mine included) Post up some pickys so we can get a better look at yours as for the paint Bubbling It is more than likely the clear coat lifting , I also have the same problem just to lazy to fix it

HLC · 05-06-2010, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T3man

The skirts were made to suit Fairmont rear bars - they are a different shape and length to the Falcons. They can be made to fit but it takes some mucking about and they never look perfect.

the fairmont bars aren't different to the falcon bars at all. They are the exact same. Tht being said, AU1 rear bars are different to AU2/3 rear bars.

And from what I've seen I wouldn't bother with a fibresports rear skirt, my froNt skirt from them was a shocking fit.

irdonn · 06-06-2010, 07:34 PM

The bar and the skirt are in different locations at the moment but I will put it back on and get some photos to show the problem. The rear bar looks the same as Mum's AU2 Forte but most of the rear of it has been cut out and a long line of silicon added to the outside of it.... I guess to stop water and grime being flicked up.

Cheers.

**Mont5.0** · 06-06-2010, 08:03 PM

can you fit the skirt to the bar-off the car then fit the bar up as one?-may have more movement when not on car?

HLC · 07-06-2010, 11:42 AM

thats what i would reccommend doing.

LeadFoot81 · 08-06-2010, 07:38 AM

I've got a fibresports fibreglass S2 Tickford rear skirt, and the fit is pretty good. To the untrained eye you cant spot the difference. The only thing is near each wheelarch there is a 2-3mm uneven gap because there is no 'give' in the glass skirt as opposed to the genuine plastic one.

When it was first fitted we found it hard to get it to sit level (looking at it from side on) when it was level on one side, we couldnt get it into the wheelarch on the other side. So we fitted it as best we could (we did this while the bumper was off the car) A few weeks later though I was able to adjust it surprisingly easily to sit just right (while it was on the car)

With the genuine skirt being plastic (and off the car) you shouldnt have any dramas getting it to fit nice and snug, you'll need two sets of hands though.

Re: skirts being fitted at Tickford and at dealerships that makes sense as I've noticed a fair bit of disparity in 'genuine' installations: some rear skirts sit really high up on rear bars (and look awkward) others much lower, then theres side skirt dog legs which sit really low on the front guards, others that are up high and sit just right.

irdonn · 11-06-2010, 03:45 PM

Got some pics today... the rear bar without the skirt and the problem in the right rear wheel arch.

Is the silicon on the rear bar necessary? May not be helping trying to move it around. I also noticed in the right rear wheel arch the skirt has never appeared to be bolted on. There are no holes in it.

I've had another play and there is absolutely no give in it once it's on the rear bar.

Do you guys think it's still worth taking off the rear bar?

Only option I can think of is removing the top corner sticking out in the second photo. Botom part in the wheel arch will sit flush enough to be bolted on then.

Cheers.

**Whoosha** · 11-06-2010, 06:31 PM

The silicon usually helps hold the skirt in place as well as stopping mud from underneath weeping through as for the skirt try loosening the screws in the bar and moving the bar out to suit the skirt

irdonn · 11-06-2010, 06:36 PM

Hi Whoosh.

The bar's sitting in the photo with the screws off completely. Still not flexible.

In other news how are those pods? I can't wait much longer! (=

Cheers,

Ian

**Whoosha** · 11-06-2010, 06:50 PM

Will go and have a poke at mine in the morning as both sides are flush as.. if the Rail Hail and sleet has cleared

As for the pods there a work in progress

have been on his case once a week now .. its a tuff call who will give up first

Second look at that skirt the line looks right its the bar edge thats too sharp. pull that last screw out from the inner gaurd and see what you can see you should be able to space it out from behind

galaxy xr8 · 11-06-2010, 06:57 PM

Mine doesn't sit like that , it sit's very flush on both side's, I will have a look tomorrow and see if I can see anything different on mine.

irdonn · 11-06-2010, 07:28 PM

Thanks guys. Whoosh I pulled it out but no luck. It's almost as though the skirt is too small to wrap around the whole of the bar. It's only that top edge that won't go under the wheel arch.... maybe a bit of cosmetic surgery if all else fails....

galaxy xr8 · 11-06-2010, 08:15 PM

Have you tried grabbing the kit from underneath and pulling it up, will that bring the top around and closser to the pannel ??.

irdonn · 11-06-2010, 09:14 PM

I've tried grabbing every part of the skirt possible mate! I'm thinking it must've come from factory (no screw holes in the inner guard or inside part of skirt) . The silicon isn't spread too evenly (blobs everywhere) so might file it down a bit and see if that's restricting movement. I've checked and rechecked the rear bar and it all lines up perfectly.